Eskgrove Dovecot, Inveresk, Musselburgh

Circa 1740, with 19th century additions. 2-storey and basement, 5-bay villa. Sandstone rubble, heavily pointed and lined, with ashlar dressings; cavetto cornice and rusticated quoins; chamfered arrises to basement and 1st floor windows.

S ELEVATION: shallow canted doorway added at centre, circa 1800, with cornice and leaded piend roof, pedimented door bearing heraldic crest; flat-roofed, earlier 19th century porch added at head of stone steps

with trellised panels and canopy; 2-leaf doors; wrought-iron railings to steps. Corniced windows to remaining bays at ground and 1st floors; basement windows to canted sides of entrance bay, and in outer bays.

N ELEVATION: flat-roofed rectangular stairblock projecting at centre with 19th century tripartite window inserted and regrettable modern porch addition at ground. Late 19th century, flat-roofed full-height

projection added to outer right. 2 bays to left with regular fenestration at ground and 1st floor. Piended, slate hung dormer windows.

E ELEVATION: earlier 19th century, corniced rectangular projection at ground at centre, with tripartite window and parapet; 1st floor window to left.

W ELEVATION: 19th century conservatory addition to right, on rubble base with panelled base course and decorative cast-iron ridge ornament. 2 1st floor windows.

Variety of glazing patterns in sash and case windows. Grey slates to piend roof; panelled and corniced ashlar ridge stacks; cans retained. Lead gutters flanking main doorway.

INTERIOR: largely altered; stairwell retained with bull-nosed moulding to stair and decorative wrought-iron balustrade. Fielded 18th century panelling to 1st floor rooms, with bolection moulded chimneypieces.

DOVECOT: probably later 17th century. 2-storey lectern dovecot in poor condition. Sandstone rubble with ashlar dressings; 2 rat courses; coped skews with kneelers. Door to S elevation with oeil-de-boeuf window below eaves at centre. Currently roofless (1989). 150 nesting boxes in lower storey, 131 in upper.

RETAINING WALLS AND GATEPIERS: heavily pointed sandstone rubble retaining walls with ashlar coping to roadside; corniced, column gatepiers, ashlar, with ball finials to S drive.